The Faces Of Forced Arbitration

The stories told here represent the situation millions of employees face every day in America. They describe workplaces where sexual harassment had run rampant for years, where employers swept repeated instances of sexual harassment from known offenders under the rug, and where workers who had the courage to speak up were fired and, if they sued, were forced into secret arbitration proceedings.

Employers are free to impose forced arbitration because U.S. Supreme Court rulings have interpreted a federal statute from 1925, called the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), in a manner that heavily favors corporations over employees. Under the Court’s interpretation of the FAA, employers are allowed to make a worker’s job contingent on accepting take-it-or-leave-it clauses that prevent employees from vindicating their rights in court.

Because the U.S. Supreme Court has made these rulings binding on state courts, the only comprehensive solution is for the federal government to pass a law amending the FAA to outlaw forced arbitration. Several bills seeking to address these issues have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, including,

To restore basic fairness and access to justice for America’s workforce, forced arbitration in the American workplace must end.

Has an employer ever forced you into arbitration, or fired you because you refused to waive your right to go to court? If an employer has ever required you to sign an arbitration clause as a condition of employment, we want to hear from you. Tell us your story!

Have you experienced sexual harassment, wage theft, or other employer abuses, and need legal advice? The National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), an organization of over 4,000 employee-side attorneys, may be able to help you find a lawyer.